The Art of Discipline: Dani’s Discovery (The Mockingbird Chronicles) (17 page)

Nodding, Emma moved first to her bookshelf. “You think the books will be okay if I leave them until we can pack them up?”

“Yeah, and I’ll see what we can do about getting them packed up as soon as possible,” Dani reasoned.

Turning, Emma headed back to her bedroom, followed closely by Dani. The next two hours were spent sorting and shuffling through Emma’s things, transferring the salvageable items to Dani’s apartment, and accepting the assistance Will, Anna, and Stevie offered. The three employees-turned-friends were a great help, especially with the numerous books that needed to be laid flat to dry.

Looking at the tables covered with her books, Emma smiled ruefully. She never thought Ryan’s Books would be doubling as a sanctuary for fire victims.

Hearing the familiar tinkle of the bell, Emma was about to tell the people they were closed when Dani stepped forward. “I have this, Emma,” she explained, approaching the man who entered. Dani greeted him, shaking his hand before turning to Emma and making the introduction. “This is Ben Hall. He and his company specialize in clean up after a fire, and Ben, this is Emma Gray, the apartment’s owner.”

Emma shook the man’s hand and looked at Dani puzzled, “I don’t understand…”

Dani smiled. “Ben’s the best in the business; I used him two years ago when a venue caught fire. He and his crew had us up and running in no time. You just take it easy and let me do this, okay?”

Emma, too tired to argue and thankful that she didn’t have to make any more decisions at the moment, found herself flopping down in one of the plush chairs as Dani and Ben made their way up to her apartment. Smiling at Anna who plopped down in the chair next to her, she shook her head. “Some day, huh?”

“Oh yeah,” Anna returned.

Emma realized she must have dosed off, for it seemed only a moment ago she was sitting across from Anna, when suddenly Dani was back. Hearing the voices, her eyes fluttered open. She glanced at her watch, stunned to see that 45 minutes had passed. Standing, she greeted Ben and Dani as they approached.

Ben smiled. “My crew and I will be down here on Wednesday. Don’t worry, Ms. Gray, we’ll have you ship-shape in no time. I’ll call you Tuesday, Danielle, to let you know what time we’ll be here.”

Watching as Dani walked him to the door, Emma waited for her to return. “I don’t know what to say.”

“It needs to be done, and the fire investigation should be finished by then, don’t worry about anything, Emma. Like I said, we’ll get through this.” Bending down, she gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a break. What say we go out for lunch and do a bit of shopping?”

“Shopping?” Emma raised an eyebrow.

“Uh-huh, you need some new things, and I’m treating.”

“Well,” Emma looked up, as Stevie approached and winked. “I guess I could be persuaded.”

Stevie laughed, “That was hard.” Turning to Dani, she gave her a pat on the shoulder. “Good luck, my friend. This one loves to shop.”

“I’ll take my chances,” Dani joked.

Stevie grinned. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Emma pushed Stevie. “Hey now, you’re going to scare her.”

Dani smiled and put her arm around Emma’s shoulders. “Nothing could scare me when it comes to you.”

“And on that note, we’re going to head home. You two have fun.” Stevie winked at Dani again. “And don’t forget, you were warned.”

* * *

“Please, Emma,” Dani begged as they sat at an empty table in the mall’s food court. “Please, my head hurts, I’ve been up since 4:13 a.m., and I just had that one driving here,” she whined.

Emma rolled her eyes at the pitiful expression. “Alright,” she relented, “just this once.”

“Yes!” Dani jumped up and gave Emma a quick kiss. “I’ll be right back.”

Dani returned shortly carrying a tray containing their lunch, complete with bottled water for Emma and a medium-sized diet soda for herself. Placing the food on the table, she sat down and stared at her plate. “I love sesame chicken,” she commented, stabbing a piece of meat.

Emma grinned. “Good to know, because you’ll be eating at least one of the pieces of broccoli that come with it.”

Dani put her fork down slowly and stared at Emma. “Oh come on, Emma, that’s just mean.”

Emma chuckled, taking a bite of her garlic shrimp. “Nope, it’s more than fair. Go on, try one.”

“What if I gag or something?”

“You won’t,” Emma put her own fork down. “Go on,” she encouraged. “Just try it.”

Sighing, Dani put a piece of the green vegetable on her fork before slowly bringing it to her mouth. Sniffing it, she wrinkled her nose before giving it a small lick.

Putting it down, Dani shook her head, “I can’t.”

“You can, Danielle,” Emma encouraged.

Dani muttered, once more staring at the broccoli. “Do I have to, Emma?”

“Yes, Danielle. One piece.”

“But it smells awful,” she protested.

“I didn’t ask you to smell it. I asked you to eat it.”

“No, you didn’t, you told me to eat it. There’s a big difference between asking and telling.”

Emma calmly looked at Dani. “Danielle, please, just try it. If you hate it, you don’t have to try it again.”

“Just one piece?”

“Just one piece,” Emma confirmed.

Taking a big breath, Dani stabbed the smallest piece of the vile vegetable she could find. Quickly chewing and swallowing it, she took a large sip of her diet soda. “Ick,” she wrinkled up her nose. “That was gross.”

Emma reached across the table to rub the back of Dani’s hand. “Thank you for trying it, Dani.”

Dani frowned but satisfied herself with sipping her soda as they finished their lunch in peace. Both were quiet until Emma excused herself to use the restroom. Suddenly seeing a golden opportunity, Dani decided to get a free refill and managed to drink a bit of it before Emma returned.

Emptying their trays, Dani held onto her soda cup. “You don’t need to throw that away?” Emma asked.

“Nope, I still have some left,” Dani smiled. “I’m going to draw this out as long as possible.”

Shaking her head, Emma threw the tray away and began heading toward the stores. “Okay then, let the shopping begin.”

* * *

Hearing a slurp come from Dani, Emma pointed to a nearby trash can. Sighing, Dani threw her now empty cup away but was secretly delighted that she had managed to procure the second drink. Smiling, she made her way back to Emma as they entered the next store.

Shopping was never a popular sport for Dani. She remembered endless hours with her grandmother as she was dragged from store to store, and she had come to regard it more as a chore then a fun experience. As an adult she’d occasionally visit for select items but did most of her shopping either online or used the services of a personal shopper. The experience with Emma, however, proved to be very different.

Emma was like a whirlwind. She flew in and out of the aisles without caution, pulling off anything that even remotely gathered her interest. Before Dani knew it, they were both overladen with so many outfits, she began to wonder if they were carrying more than Emma left on the racks. When Dani thought she couldn’t possibly hold one more thing, Emma directed them to the changing room. Dumping both piles inside, Emma disappeared, leaving Dani to sit on the bench outside and wait. Shifting a little on the bench, Dani was happy to note that it was at least padded.

The next 45 minutes consisted of Emma busying herself with sorting through her treasures. Occasionally she’d step out and ask for Dani’s opinion or send her on a mission to find a different size or color of a particular item. Dani did these things willingly, getting a kick out of seeing Emma so happy. If this was all it took to see the petite redhead smile, she’d gladly do it every day.

When Emma remerged with her original clothes again, however, Dani was relieved. Even though Emma’s errands had kept her busy, the padded bench turned out to be not as comfortable as it originally looked, and she was getting tired of waiting. Dani’s smile of relief quickly turned into a frown when she saw how many of the items Emma had ended up selecting. Out of everything she tried on, she came out holding a single pair of jeans and two tops.

“That’s it? After all that time…” Dani’s voice trailed off in disbelief.

“What?” Emma asked.

“What about that green dress, or the red one, or the blue one?” Dani asked, remembering the two extra trips she’s made to find the identical dress in three different colors and two different sizes.

“I can’t afford those. I was just having fun.”

Dani groaned. “I told you it’s my treat. Pick up anything you want, really, no limits.”

“Don’t be silly, honey. I can manage just fine.”

“But, I want you to be happy.”

“I am happy, Dani. Let’s go pay.”

Dani tightened her jaw, annoyed and a little hurt at Emma’s rejection of her gift. “Fine, let’s make a deal. You can get this store. I get to get the next one.”

Emma smiled, her green eyes suddenly sparkling with a hint of mischief. “Alright, if you insist. I’ve been meaning to pick up some new pajamas for you anyways. Half the ones you have are falling apart. The Pajama Barn is right across the way.”

“What? You’re not talking about my red flannel ones? I told you those are my favorites. I don’t need any new…”

Emma silenced Dani with a quick peck on the cheek. “I thought you wanted to make me happy.”

Dani sighed. “Alright. Go ahead and check out. I’m going to run to the restroom. I’ll meet up with you in the Pajama Barn, okay?”

Emma looked at her cautiously. “You’re not going to sneak off to the food court and get another soda, are you?”

It took all of Dani’s willpower to suppress her look of surprise. The way that Emma worded her question, Dani wasn’t sure if Emma was referring to earlier, or just in general. “No, of course not. Honestly, I just have to use the restroom.”

“Okay then, meet up with you in a few,” Emma agreed, narrowing her eyes slightly at Dani. She was up to something, and Emma didn’t trust that innocent look she was trying to pass off.

Turning to ‘look’ for the restroom, Dani made a beeline for the first sales associate she saw. Nearly tackling the poor women, she pulled out her platinum card and quickly explained her situation. Dressing room number three was cleared out in record time as Dani quickly sorted through the piles and selected everything she thought Emma even remotely liked. Smiling at her own cleverness, she even arranged for the bags to be delivered to her apartment. Checking the time with her phone, Dani then quickly headed to meet up with Emma, knowing if she was gone too much longer, she would grow suspicious.

Quickly crossing the way, Dani smiled when she caught up with Emma. “Find anything you like?”

“Yes, what do you think of these?” Emma asked, holding up a pink t-shirt with matching pajama pants featuring a cartoon cat.

“I think you’d look adorable in that,” Dani smiled.

“They are not for me,” Emma smiled back.

“No,” Dani grabbed the pajamas from Emma’s hand and put them back on the shelf. “I don’t do pink.”

“You have a pink shirt you wear with that dark gray suit,” Emma argued.

“That’s different,” Dani argued back, trying to distract Emma with an alternative. Finally finding a black set with a rock and roll band featured on the tee, she tried, “How about these?”

“Alright, we’ll get both of them,” Emma compromised. “Besides, they are having a BOGO sale, so we need to get at least two anyways.

“Why don’t you pick out one for yourself then,” Dani almost whined.

“I plan to,” Emma grinned, as she began to move through the shop and hunt with a vengeance.

Almost a half hour later, each woman was the proud owner of exactly two new sets of pajamas, which Emma did allow Dani to purchase. Emma was in the process of dragging Dani to another store when Dani realized that she had to use the restroom—for real this time. She tried her best to ignore it but couldn’t resist giving in to the demands of that second soda.

“Ah, Emma, I need to use the restroom. I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Again?” Emma asked, concerned. “You feeling alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just gotta go,” Dani practically yelled as she dashed into the nearest large department store.

Emma stopped short, narrowing her eyes again at Dani’s odd behavior. Deciding to wait, Emma turned toward the nearest bench. Pulling at her phone, she was browsing through her e-mail when she felt a shadow fall over her, partially blocking the light.

“That was fast, Dani…” she said, but trailed off as she looked up and saw who was there.

“Aren’t you going to say hello to you own father?” Patrick Sampson sneered. “I thought I raised you with better manners that that.”

Emma jumped to her feet. “You have nothing to do with the way I was raised. Leave me alone before I call the police.”

“Big words from a little girl,” Sampson replied. He grabbed Emma’s arm, pulling her closer. Emma coughed, gagged by the overpowering smell of cigarette smoke as her father hissed in her ear. “I heard the old man bit it and left you his store. You owe me Emma, and I aim to collect.”

“I don’t owe you a thing…” Emma started to argue, but yelped as he tightened his grip on her arm.

“Yes, you do, I helped bring you into this world. If it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t be here. I know you’re rolling in it now, and I want my payday too.”

“How much?” Emma squeaked, hoping if she cooperated he’d loosen his grip.

“Just fifty thousand.”

“Fifty! I don’t have that much,” Emma pleaded.

“Maybe not right now, but you can get it. I’ll be back, my dear. I want you to work on it quickly.”

Emma whimpered as Sampson released her. Stunned, Emma fell back onto the bench as he turned and disappeared into one of the bigger stores. Pale and visually shaking, Emma fought back the tears, praying that Dani would soon return. Luckily, she didn’t have to wait long. Almost as if in answer to her prayers, Dani returned less than five minutes later.

“Hey, sorry it took so long. You wouldn’t believe the line…” Dani trailed off seeing Emma’s condition. Dani sat down, putting a protective arm around her. “What happened? Are you okay?”